Trump Tried to Brag About Black Friday. The Truth Is Far More Grim.

After promising Americans in July that his proposed ballroom “would be close but not touch” the East Wing of the White House, Trump completely razed the FDR-era expansion in October, without prior approval from the National Capital Planning Commission or express authorization from Congress. Fortunately, Trump began the demolition during the government shutdown, when the NCPC was consequently closed.

The Trump administration said that the future A 90,000-square-foot event space will accommodate 650 people, an increase of 200 people from the current maximum seating capacity in the East Wing of the White House. But real estate experts have since pointed out that the possibilities of this area should be much wider, given that a space of this size would be roughly equivalent to two football fields.

The price of the project also inexplicably increased by 50% after Trump began demolishing the East Wing. What Trump initially billed as a $200 million project was labeled in late October as a $300 million development plan. The White House has suggested that the project would be financed, in part, by some of the the richest families and largest companies in the countryincluding Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta.